Thursday, May 31, 2007

Paris In The Spring

Earlier this month I had to opportunity to visit Paris during a series of meetings that were being held there. I had only been to Paris once before and that was only to change planes at the airport. This time I was there for four and a half days while I attended meetings in the mornings and evenings. That left the afternoons open for some sightseeing, which I don't always have much time to do.

Paris is a very interesting and impressive city and there are so many amazing things there are to see in the city. Every city seems to have a certain kind of atmosphere all its own and Paris is no different. The hotel I stayed at was only about 20 minutes walking distance from the Eifel Tower. The picture here is one that I took while I was in Paris.


From where I live here in Germany Paris is only an hour away by air so it is not too hard to get to. Next year there will be some more meetings in Paris during the month of May so if I am able to go to those meetings, and if I have some free time, I would definitely like to go and visit some more of the wonderful places in Paris. I took a lot of pictures while I was there and to end the blog here is another I took. This is of course the Arch de Triumph; it too is quite impressive when you see it in person.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Trash School

This post is actually from my old blog site that I had last year. But, because my old blog site died and went to blog heaven, I decided to "repost" this. I hope you like it and this is not something I am making up but the way things are really done here in Germany.


Before I moved to Germany I took some lessons in the German language and I studied a bit about Germany and the German people. But, when I got to Germany I found out that there were other things to learn about in order to live here and one of those things is trash. Many people have asked me about learning the German language but I don't think anyone has ever asked me if I have learned about the German trash system.

In Germany there are a number of different kinds of trash. At the bottom of this blog I have included a picture of some of the trash cans for the apartment building where I live. There are trash cans for recyclable trash (yellow containers), non-recyclable trash (metal container), and biodegradable trash (brown container); but that's not all. There is also separate trash collection for glass, which must be separated by the glass color (white, brown, or green), and there is also a separate trash bin for paper. So that is five different ways you can dispose of your trash.

But things don't stop there. Just when you think you have earned a degree in trashology you still need to master the trash calendar. The trash calender is a booklet that tells you what kind of trash is which and when it will actually be collected. This trash calendar has nine listings for the different kinds of trash to be picked up because it includes a schedule for things like appliances that you might throw away.

This may sound a little bit funny to hear about trash on a missionary blog site but it is just one of the interesting things you learn about when you live in another country. Maybe instead of just having language schools for missionaries there could be trash schools to help with the trash transition!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Energy From The Inside

Lately things have been so busy that I have not really taken the time to put anything on my blog site. Tonight as I was finishing up some other work I got thinking about what I have been doing lately, how it has been so busy, and how there are a few busy days coming up. It is 9:30 PM as I am writing this and I had a good idea for a blog post based on how things have been going for me lately.

No, I am not going to sing the blues and say it has been so hard lately. What I do want to mention briefly is connected to what this blog is titled, Energy From The Inside. If you look at what Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:16 about his prayer for the people in the church at Ephesus it is very interesting. Paul talk about, "to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man" and I think this is something that we often miss. Too many times we look for strength, support, and help from everywhere but where we should be looking, on the inside. As Christians we have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us and through the Holy Spirit we have available to us all of the strength, support, and help that we could ever need!

So many times we look at our circumstances, our feelings, or other people around us and we think we just can't go another step. I think vitamins, exercise, and vacations are all great but if we are relying on those things to help us get through life without being overwhelmed we are neglecting the real strength that God gives to us. We need to stop trying to be strong in ourselves and start focusing on who we are in Christ and what we have as new creatures in Christ. All of us need some recharging from time to time and I think the best way to do that is to plug in to the greater One on the inside of us and let Him help us and give the strength we need to live the victorious life that God intended for us to live!